The present invention relates to a magnetic tape cassette accommodating case, and more particularly to an improved case for storing a plurality of audio magnetic tape cassettes.
A magnetic tape cassette used for audio recording or playback, etc., is typically stored in a dedicated case (hereinafter referred to as a "cassette accommodating case") which is made of plastic when the cassette is not in use.
Since a magnetic tape cassette both has a front opening end into which a magnetic head, etc., are inserted when the cassette is installed in a recording/reproducing apparatus and the magnetic tape traverses the front opening end, the case is used not only to prevent dust from entering the cassette from the front opening end, but also to protect both the magnetic tape exposed at the front opening end and the cassette as a whole.
FIG. 24 shows a basic construction of a conventional cassette accommodating case 31 which includes a cover member 32 having a pocket 34 and a casing member 35 having a pair of rotation stopping projections 7. The pocket 34 serves as a space into which the front opening end of a magnetic tape cassette 20 is inserted. The pair of rotation stopping projections 7 are inserted into shaft insertion holes 22 of the cassette 20. The cassette accommodating case 31 is designed so that the casing member 35 and the cover member 32 can be opened and closed like a door by causing support projections to be fitted with through holes. The support projections are internally arranged on lateral walls of the casing member 35 and the through holes are provided on lateral walls close to the end wall of the pocket member 34.
The cassette accommodating case 31 is dimensionally designed so that its thickness between two wall portions 33, 36 confronting the respective upper and lower surfaces of the cassette 20 is set to a value corresponding to the thickness of a relatively thick portion 21 forming the front opening end of the cassette 20. Thus, the cassette accommodating case 31 has a thickness l.sub.1 significantly greater than the thickness l.sub.2 of the thin portion excluding the thick portion 21. Therefore, the cassette accommodating case 31 requires a storage space comparatively larger than that required for storing a bare cassette (i.e., a cassette without the thick portion).
Thus, if a user wishes to store the cassette 20 in a limited space, e.g., if one wishes to store as many cassettes as possible within the console box of a motor vehicle, there are often occasions when the cassettes are not accommodated in cassette accommodating cases 31. When a cassette is stored without using the case 31, the cassette is exposed not only to dust, which encourages deterioration of the magnetic tape recording/reproduction performance, but also to damage due to direct impact from droppage of the cassette, etc.
To overcome the above problems, the present applicant has proposed several thin cassette accommodating cases (e.g., as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publications Nos. 163279/1985 and 52782/1988).
In these thin cassette accommodating cases, a cassette is accommodated in the case upside down with respect to a cassette accommodated in the conventional case, so that its thick portion is positioned on the opened side of the cassette accommodating case and recesses for receiving the thick portion are formed on both upper and lower walls of the case.
More specifically, an improved cassette accommodating case disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. 52782/1988 and as shown in FIG. 23 has a cassette accommodating case 11 arranged so that a cover member 12 having a pocket 14 is pivotally attached to a casing member 15 in a manner similar to the conventional cassette accommodating case. Recesses 18 for receiving the relatively thick portion 21 of a cassette are formed on the opened side of wall portions 13, 16 of the cover member 12 and the casing member 15, respectively, and the wall portions extensively confront the upper and lower surfaces of the cassette.
The recesses 18 are formed to confront each other toward the interior of the case to such a depth and shape as to receive the thick portion 21 (also referred to as a "trapezoidal portion").
Accordingly, the cassette accommodating case 11 can be formed so that the thickness between the wall portions 13, 16 is only slightly larger than the thickness l.sub.2 excluding the thick portion 21, thus achieving a thin structure compared to the conventional case. Therefore, the storage space can be reduced and the utility as a portable case is improved as compared to the conventional case.
However, the applicants have found that such an improved case still has problems which must be overcome.
Specifically, a single cassette cannot always record entire pieces or compilations of music, e.g., classical music recordings, or a plurality of music pieces arranged in an "album." If the music is long, commercially two or more cassettes are employed to record the music, and they are sold as a set. Thus, a conventional cassette accommodating case which can contain only one cassette requires a user to be diligent in keeping a set of cassettes together. This is an inconvenience. In such cases, it is not ideal to store the music in a plurality of cassettes from the standpoint of orderly storage since the music is recorded in two or more cassettes and must be stored as a set.
Therefore, a user is inconvenienced in always maintaining a set of related cassettes together. For example, for language learning tapes and the like, which must be arranged and stored according to a learning program, a dedicated box is usually provided to store the cassettes.
Also, as the case structures become thinner, their rigidity must be designed properly, and the protection and handling at the time of opening and closing cassettes must be considered.
Further, generally the cassette accommodating case has such a structure as to cover the entire cassette, thus providing excellent protection for the cassette as a dustproof case and a shock eliminator. Particularly, in audio compact cassettes having an opening for inserting the magnetic head on their front end, the magnetic tape is exposed to the user's fingers, and thus a cassette accommodating case is a must to carry the cassettes.
A similar consideration to those discussed above is that, in the case of a commercially available magnetic tape cassette in which classical music, etc., is recorded, a compilation or a piece of music that is as long as, e.g., two discs, is recorded in two or more magnetic tape cassettes and sold as a set. However, the conventional cassette accommodating case can house only one magnetic tape cassette, and users, having to store tapes as a set to keep them together, find the conventional case very inconvenient. As discussed above, this is particularly true for language learning tapes, etc., which have to be kept in a predetermined sequence, and thus care is taken by providing a dedicated box.
Cassette accommodating cases that can accommodate a plurality of magnetic tape cassettes simultaneously are disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Examined Publications Nos. 52781/1982 and 16541/1985, Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publications Nos. 63874/1984, 118168/1984, 189778/1984, 189779/1984, and 137787/1988, etc. Each of these cassette accommodating cases has a plurality of accommodating portions formed integrally with each other and a pair of covering members arranged to be opened and closed to cover the respective accommodating portions, so that a plurality of magnetic tape cassettes are accommodated to be superposed either in the same direction or upside down.
However, most cassette accommodating cases in which a plurality of magnetic tape cassettes are received simultaneously as described above have such a structure that the conventional cases accommodating a single cassette are simply overlapped, and, as a result, require a large storage space. Specifically, in a cassette accommodating case that receives a set of magnetic tape cassettes by overlapping them in the same direction, the distance between the wall portions of the confronting cover members is set to a distance corresponding to a thickness which is twice the thickness of a trapezoidal portion, which is a relatively thick portion, as mentioned above, of the magnetic tape cassette to be accommodated.
Also, in a cassette accommodating case that receives a set of magnetic tape cassettes by superposing them upside down, the distance between the wall portions of the confronting cover members is set to a distance corresponding to a thickness that is equal to the sum of the thickness of the trapezoidal portion of a magnetic tape cassette to be accommodated and the thickness of the cassette other than its trapezoidal portion. Thus, the thickness of such cassette accommodating cases becomes quite large compared to the thickness of the portion of the cassette other than its relatively thick portion. Since these cassette accommodating cases are generally stored while arranged upright so that the labels on their spines can be seen, the thick cases require a large storage space.